Title: The Road Author: Cormac McCarthy Date of Publication: 2006 Literary Period: Contemporary Genre: Novel Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting.
Grey; ashy; dark
Rains a lot- rain is terrible for them
They’re cold
Death, everywhere
Everyone distrusts each other; fear is king
Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas) Dreams and Memory: The boy was born into the post apocalyptic world; it’s his reality; this brings the man into conflict about the nature of reality: is it the old world he knew or the new world the boy knows? The man also battles with memory of his wife (the boy’s mother), who couldn’t handle the new reality. She killed herself with a piece of obsidian (known via a flashback). She believed life in the post-apocalyptic world wasn’t worth living, similar to Ely, but she had enough fear to end it Family and Love: Love keeps the man going; the boy and man are “each the other’s world entire.” Despite their hopelessness environment, the two characters will sacrifice anything for each other. McCarthy suggests an intertwined relationships between the nature of survival and love; one leads to the other. Religion: Novel full of Biblical allusions: the boy himself is a sort of Christ figure, the clocks stopped at (Revelations) 1:17, the man scoops water into his hands instead of getting on all fours, they often pray (ending scene where boy talks to his dad). Thematically, the two characters symbolize the persistence and necessity of goodness in a imperfect world, set on destroying hope. The relationship between son and father seem connect with the fatherly love behind Christianity Kindness and Compassion: While initially associating these qualities with Naivety and youth, the Road rejects the idea that maturity leads to a self preservation at the expense of kindness when even after the boy grows mature (he is the “one who has to worry about everything”), he maintains his compassion.
Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here. (Beginning, Middle, End)
34: man won’t break big promises
47: bodies in the truck
57: detailed dream about “her”
66: cannibal tries to kidnap boy, get’s shot by man
77: man “appointed by god” to care for boy
86: boy cries about them leaving the other little boy
101: man might lie to boy about dying
110: they find people in the cellar, livestock
131: Found food storage place, underground
159: Boy reveals his curiosity, yet naivety, to the old world’s ways
167: Ely! THIS DUDE HAS A NAME (just kidding)
181: McCarthy gives a shockingly vivid description of the world’s end
198: Charred human infant, roasting
215: They get to the ocean
230: sextant “stirs” the man
241: boy asks if flare gun can kill someone
251: boy gets better after being sick. (rebirth?)
258: they ‘kill’ the thief, by leaving him with no clothes
281: man finally dies, after final exchange about the “little boy” (the one they abandoned earlier in the novel) Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE. “The frailty of everything revealed at last. Old and troubling issues resolved into nothingness and night. The last instance of a thing takes the class with it. Turns out the light and is gone. Look around you. Ever is a long time. But the boy knew what he knew. That ever is no time at all”
Ironically, the bareness of the world pulls back the iron curtain of a complex civilization, and brings a sort of simplicity to existence, and also the enormity of the universe around them. It brings a strange kind of beauty.
“Youre not the one who has to worry about everything … Yes I am, he said. I am the one.”
The line which conclusively shows the boy has matured during the story. Even though he was born into this world, he understands it’s burden; he also understands his place in it: while his father will pass on soon, he must continue to survive, continue “carrying the fire.”
“If they saw different worlds what they knew was the same. That the train would sit there slowly decomposing for all eternity and that no train would ever run again.”
Unlike his father, the boy’s entirety is the post-apocalyptic world. He never saw the world before that. Nonetheless, he shares his father’s understanding that the boy’s world is the future; the father’s world is dead and gone. He must pass the fire to his son, an almost classic coming-of-age tale.
“He knew only that his child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke.”
Connects to the theme that connects love and survival; the boy keeps the man alive, not only through his compassion, but also through his needs. Love gives the father purpose, a reason to survive. Additionally, this connects to McCarthy’s spiritual message behind the road: even in their horrible, barren world, God’s word manifests itself in the boy’s compassion for everyone. The father recognizes this, and the boy helps him keep his faith in God, a power greater than their puny existence.
“You have to carry the fire.
I don't know how to.
Yes, you do.
Is the fire real? The fire?
Yes it is.
Where is it? I don't know where it is.
Yes you do. It's inside you. It always was there. I can see it.”
The boy and father will not resort to cruel violence, no matter how many others in their world will. They carry the symbol of goodness in their hearts, and in this scene the man explains this to his son in terms he can understand. Similarly, McCarthy encourages the reader to never extinguish their own fire. While the reader’s world is likely not nearly as bleak as theirs, inside all of humans is both a fire and a fire extinguisher. McCarthy tells readers to never resort to evil, to follow the model of the boy and man, the model of survival for hope and love.
Describe the significance of the opening scene. The man dreams about leading the boy into a cave with a “black and ancient” lake, across it there’s a translucent monster, it’s innards vaguely visible, trying to see it’s reflection in the water. It turns away from the man and boy.
Describe the significance of the closing scene. The man dies and the boy finds some people, who claim to be “good guys,” have kids his age, and don’t eat people. He trusts them, offers them his pistol (they refuse), and leaves them as the man with them covers the father’s body. McCarthy shows the boy’s compassion and trust is unrelenting. Despite all the betrayal in the world, the boy still trusts these strangers. McCarthy leads readers to believe the they did carry the fire and that hope did win in the end, as the boy returns to find they did as promised and put a blanket over his father. The people also refused to take his gun, and the woman with them guided the boy in prayer to his father. Hope and love are never alone, McCarthy seems to suggest. He turns around the dark, ominous undertone of the book with an optimistic ending.
Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text. No punctuation makes dialogue ambiguous; connect the boy and man as two different aspects of a single individual struggle to survive. The lack of formal conventions also mirrors the barren world they live in: there is no need for formalities anymore. That world is gone.
List importance characters and their significance. Boy: Possible christ figure; described in holy manner; as an “alien;” He’s incessantly compassionate. Man: “Appointed by God” to care for the boy; battles himself in good versus evil, prioritizing the boy’s protection above all else Ely: “There is no God and we are his prophets;” Only named character, yet turns out to have lied. Questions whether life has meaning, and also questions the extent to which we can trust each other. After receiving food from boy, doesn’t thank him. Would wish he hasn’t been born, but “beggars can’t be choosers” Little Boy: Did not take him with them, despite the boy’s pouting. Was discussed before the man died
List important symbols from the work and their significance Fire: Represents what the boy and man stand for; they’re “carrying the fire” throughout the story Trout: True beauty that never was in their stark post-apocalyptic environment. Represents nature without man’s poison: “On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery.” Flare Gun: Represents existential abandonment: nobody was there to see them fire the flare gun, which they found on an abandoned boat. Furthermore, it turned from a rescue tool into a weapon The Road: The human drive to explore and travel and not give up survived the apocalypse, symbolized by the road, the only human engineered thing to survive
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Date of Publication: 2006
Literary Period: Contemporary
Genre: Novel
Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting.
Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas)
Dreams and Memory: The boy was born into the post apocalyptic world; it’s his reality; this brings the man into conflict about the nature of reality: is it the old world he knew or the new world the boy knows? The man also battles with memory of his wife (the boy’s mother), who couldn’t handle the new reality. She killed herself with a piece of obsidian (known via a flashback). She believed life in the post-apocalyptic world wasn’t worth living, similar to Ely, but she had enough fear to end it
Family and Love: Love keeps the man going; the boy and man are “each the other’s world entire.” Despite their hopelessness environment, the two characters will sacrifice anything for each other. McCarthy suggests an intertwined relationships between the nature of survival and love; one leads to the other.
Religion: Novel full of Biblical allusions: the boy himself is a sort of Christ figure, the clocks stopped at (Revelations) 1:17, the man scoops water into his hands instead of getting on all fours, they often pray (ending scene where boy talks to his dad). Thematically, the two characters symbolize the persistence and necessity of goodness in a imperfect world, set on destroying hope. The relationship between son and father seem connect with the fatherly love behind Christianity
Kindness and Compassion: While initially associating these qualities with Naivety and youth, the Road rejects the idea that maturity leads to a self preservation at the expense of kindness when even after the boy grows mature (he is the “one who has to worry about everything”), he maintains his compassion.
Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here. (Beginning, Middle, End)
34: man won’t break big promises
47: bodies in the truck
57: detailed dream about “her”
66: cannibal tries to kidnap boy, get’s shot by man
77: man “appointed by god” to care for boy
86: boy cries about them leaving the other little boy
101: man might lie to boy about dying
110: they find people in the cellar, livestock
131: Found food storage place, underground
159: Boy reveals his curiosity, yet naivety, to the old world’s ways
167: Ely! THIS DUDE HAS A NAME (just kidding)
181: McCarthy gives a shockingly vivid description of the world’s end
198: Charred human infant, roasting
215: They get to the ocean
230: sextant “stirs” the man
241: boy asks if flare gun can kill someone
251: boy gets better after being sick. (rebirth?)
258: they ‘kill’ the thief, by leaving him with no clothes
281: man finally dies, after final exchange about the “little boy” (the one they abandoned earlier in the novel)
Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE.
“The frailty of everything revealed at last. Old and troubling issues resolved into nothingness and night. The last instance of a thing takes the class with it. Turns out the light and is gone. Look around you. Ever is a long time. But the boy knew what he knew. That ever is no time at all”
“Youre not the one who has to worry about everything … Yes I am, he said. I am the one.”
“If they saw different worlds what they knew was the same. That the train would sit there slowly decomposing for all eternity and that no train would ever run again.”
“He knew only that his child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke.”
“You have to carry the fire.
I don't know how to.
Yes, you do.
Is the fire real? The fire?
Yes it is.
Where is it? I don't know where it is.
Yes you do. It's inside you. It always was there. I can see it.”
Describe the significance of the opening scene.
The man dreams about leading the boy into a cave with a “black and ancient” lake, across it there’s a translucent monster, it’s innards vaguely visible, trying to see it’s reflection in the water. It turns away from the man and boy.
Describe the significance of the closing scene.
The man dies and the boy finds some people, who claim to be “good guys,” have kids his age, and don’t eat people. He trusts them, offers them his pistol (they refuse), and leaves them as the man with them covers the father’s body. McCarthy shows the boy’s compassion and trust is unrelenting. Despite all the betrayal in the world, the boy still trusts these strangers. McCarthy leads readers to believe the they did carry the fire and that hope did win in the end, as the boy returns to find they did as promised and put a blanket over his father. The people also refused to take his gun, and the woman with them guided the boy in prayer to his father. Hope and love are never alone, McCarthy seems to suggest. He turns around the dark, ominous undertone of the book with an optimistic ending.
Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text.
No punctuation makes dialogue ambiguous; connect the boy and man as two different aspects of a single individual struggle to survive. The lack of formal conventions also mirrors the barren world they live in: there is no need for formalities anymore. That world is gone.
List importance characters and their significance.
Boy: Possible christ figure; described in holy manner; as an “alien;” He’s incessantly compassionate.
Man: “Appointed by God” to care for the boy; battles himself in good versus evil, prioritizing the boy’s protection above all else
Ely: “There is no God and we are his prophets;” Only named character, yet turns out to have lied. Questions whether life has meaning, and also questions the extent to which we can trust each other. After receiving food from boy, doesn’t thank him. Would wish he hasn’t been born, but “beggars can’t be choosers”
Little Boy: Did not take him with them, despite the boy’s pouting. Was discussed before the man died
List important symbols from the work and their significance
Fire: Represents what the boy and man stand for; they’re “carrying the fire” throughout the story
Trout: True beauty that never was in their stark post-apocalyptic environment. Represents nature without man’s poison: “On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery.”
Flare Gun: Represents existential abandonment: nobody was there to see them fire the flare gun, which they found on an abandoned boat. Furthermore, it turned from a rescue tool into a weapon
The Road: The human drive to explore and travel and not give up survived the apocalypse, symbolized by the road, the only human engineered thing to survive
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